Foreign tourist arrivals to Türkiye declined slightly in February, provisional data shared by the Culture and Tourism Ministry revealed on Monday.
According to data shared by the ministry, the number of foreign tourists in the country last month decreased by 2.08% year-over-year and stood at 2.12 million.
This was compared to some 2.17 million in the same month of 2025 and 2.29 million in 2024.
In February, Istanbul ranked first by a wide margin in the distribution of foreign visitors entering Türkiye according to border crossings.
Visitors entering through Istanbul accounted for 57.98% of the total (or around 1.23 million), followed by the northwestern province of Edirne with 10.38%, Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya with 8.57%, Black Sea province of Artvin with 4.43%, and Van in the country's east with 2.83%.
On the other hand, a limited increase was observed when looking at the first two months of the year. The number of foreign visitors to Türkiye in January-February 2026 increased by 0.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 4.37 million.
In February, the country sending the most visitors to Türkiye was Iran, with 205,164 people and holding 9.65% share.
Iran was followed by Germany with 176,835 visitors and an 8.32% share, and the Russian Federation with 171,840 visitors and an 8.08% share. Bulgaria accounted for 158,386 visitors and a 7.45% share, while Georgia had 93,677 visitors and a 4.40% share.
The data indicated a decline in some countries compared to the same month last year. The number of visitors from Iran decreased from 223,222 to 205,164, while the number of visitors from Germany also showed a limited decrease. In contrast, an increase was recorded in the number of visitors from the Russian Federation and Bulgaria.
The number of visitors from Spain also surged close to 23% year-over-year, as some 27,255 Spaniards visited Türkiye, potentially reflecting the amicable display of relations. particularly on social media amid the war in Iran.
